Pa. family in drilling lawsuit still gets royalty

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A family that settled a lawsuit over the impacts of natural gas drilling still collects royalties from the gas production, according to documents made public this week.

The Washington Observer-Reporter reports Tuesday that under the agreement Stephanie and Christopher Hallowich continue to receive royalty payments despite having moved from the suburban Pittsburgh house in 2011. Range Resources paid them $595,000 plus legal fees in return for the property.

The paper reports the family was critical of drilling activity, but the settlement also included a statement saying they appreciated that Range purchased the property. The agreement also prohibits the family from criticizing gas drilling operations in the future.

The settlement details were released this week after the Observer-Reporter and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sued to gain access to the documents.